Brian Armstrong, 34

CEO and cofounder, Coinbase

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Portrait of Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, CA.

Winni Wintermeyer for Fortune

Armstrong is the CEO of Coinbase, which became the blockchain industry’s first “unicorn” after it raised $100 million in August, valuing the company at $1.6 billion. Armstrong, who now personally owns even more Ether than he does Bitcoin, is responsible for introducing much of America and beyond to cryptocurrency: The world’s largest exchange for trading digital currency, Coinbase’s customers have more than doubled in the past year, while trade volume in 2017 alone is roughly eight times last year’s total.